Monday, July 18, 2016

Boeing 101: Axial Loading On The KC-46 Passes Milesstone C Test

Recently as in this month the
KC-46 needed to pass a significant test point before the military can accept
and announce the first Lots of KC-46 production for about 19 KC-46's. Boeing
hit an Axial Load wall with its C-17 and F-16 tests Earlier this year. The
military issued a no-go memorandum before accepting any KC-46 from Boeing. The
term bantered about was Axial Loading as a big problem. Going to the internet
was the first step in solving a blogging problem about Axial Loading.

As all
studious patrons of knowledge, must have a quick course established on the
internet for such a problem. Boeing engineers go to school for years studying
Axial Loads and have come up with a mechanical solution to alleviate Axial
Loading with its KC-46 Boom and fuel delivery system.

Axial
Loading 101 Class summary:

"An Axial load is a force administered along the lines of an axis. Axial loading occurs when an object is loaded so
that the force is normal to the axis that is fixed, as seen in the figure.
Taking statics into consideration the force at the wall should be equal to the
force that is applied to the part."

Word Problem: A boy who weighs 60 lbs is pulling a toy wagon having about 200
lbs of bricks stacked in the wagon. The boy comes to a crack in the sidewalk
and the wagon stops. The boy must hang onto the wagon handle and pull the
wagon through the sidewalk's cracked ridge. A garden hose is also strung
through the handle under home water pressure coming from the house. Jerking the
wagon over the crack could disconnect the garden hose that is running down
inside the wagon's handle, and then cause a blow-out and a big mess for the
load of bricks stopped at the sidewalk crack. The boy could not compensate for the change in
his Axial Load grip on the wagon handle and the hose stretched and
came disconnected. What was the change in force between the Boy, hose, and
handle to the wagon causing the blow-out?

The question is run through the boy's tablet and an answer came back
instructing him to adjust his grip and lever the wagon over the side-walk crack
exerting enough force keeping the the boy to wagon connection stable and the
hose connected.

The A-10 Wart Hog has just successfully completed the Boom full load transfer validating The KC-46 for production.

The KC-46 is the boy and the C-17 is the wagon with a load of bricks. Boeing
needed a computer monitoring the ever changing Axial Loads from turbulence and
airspeed and then have a mechanical hydraulic input on its boom to stay
connected. A drogue and hose line outboard on a wing is a situation normal condition while the A-10, F-16 and C-17 all have been tested on the boom as successful. Thus completing the fueling from the KC-46 and mastering axial loads with its software and hardware fixes. Milestone C is complete awaiting government approval for first production of nineteen KC-46.